'Inside the NFL' gets new hosts

NEW YORK -- James Brown, Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth will host the renowned "Inside the NFL" when the show returns to the air on Showtime in early September.

"Inside the NFL" is the longest-running series on cable, having gone 31 years on HBO before the network canceled it this year. Showtime and CBS Sports said a month ago that it had revived the series, which is produced by NFL Films and CBS Sports. It'll air Wednesdays throughout the season on Showtime, produced by the NFL Films' Steve Sabol and CBS Sports' Sean McManus.

And it's CBS Sports that will supply two of the three hosts of the program. Brown is the host of "The NFL Today" and an Emmy winner three times, including this year's Sports Emmy. Simms has been lead analyst for the CBS coverage of the NFL since 1998. Collinsworth is an eight-time Emmy winner, including seven times as outstanding sports studio analyst. He has worked for NBC and Fox Sports before returning to NBC Sports as studio analyst for "Sunday Night Football" and game analyst for the NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football."

Collinsworth started his broadcasting career as a reporter for "Inside the NFL" in 1989 and had been co-host on HBO from 1990 to 2007. "We're just going to have some fun," Collinsworth told reporters in a conference call Monday. "That's what the 'Inside the NFL' show has always been about."